Speakers including activists, teachers and scientists said on Wednesday that the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission should be separated from the ministry of science and technology to avoid bureaucratic complexity and increase productivity and research.
They made the comment while speaking at a discussion titled Bangladeshe Paramanu Bigyan Gabeshanar Sambhabana, Sangkat O Uttaraner Upay.
The discussion was jointly organised by Bangladesh Sachetan Biggyani Samaj and BhavBoithoki at Dr Anwar Hossain Auditorium of the BAEC in the capital Dhaka.
Poet, writer and researcher Farhad Mazhar was present at the event as the key speaker while Dhaka University physics department professor Md Kamrul Hassan Mamun and Jahangirnagar University environmental sciences department professor Jamal Uddin spoke at the event.
Chief scientific officer of BAEC Sheikh Manjura Hoque presented her article on the topic while chief scientific officer ASM Saifullah delivered a welcome speech at the event.
Sheikh Manjura Hoque in her article addressed a seven-point crisis created by the ministry despite the BAEC being a corporate organisation.
She also placed their 11-point demand, including restoring autonomy of the commission. 聽
Jamal Uddin said that although the BAEC was part of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission before the War of Independence, after forming of the BAEC, however, it had less productivity because the government had no interest in research while India and Pakistan improved a lot in atomic research.
鈥楢s a nation we have become a broker because we prefer marketing to production and this is a political crisis,鈥� said Jamal Uddin who proposed that the BAEC should be separated from the ministry and accountable to the president.
Md Kamrul Hassan Mamun said that when a state did not have critical minds, its organisations fell apart. 聽
鈥楢 ministry cannot provide necessary support to research due to its bureaucratic complexity and power practice,鈥� Mamun said, adding that there was not any example of success of any organisation under any ministry in Bangladesh.
Farhad Mazhar said that the scientists of the BAEC could not create proper working space for them because of the lack of political consciousness.
鈥榃e need to find the corruption of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant and the government must ensure the security of the people who can be affected by the nuclear dust,鈥� Farhad Mazhar said, adding that he supports the 11-point demand of the scientists of the BAEC.